structural design and analysis

Tiny Tuesday: Callie’s Coop

Callie is a fifth grader from Atlanta who designed and built a homeless shelter for a school project. As described in this inhabitat article, she conceived the shelter to demonstrate the power of solar energy.

Made from inexpensive, weather-resistant materials like corrugated metal and Tuftex (much of it salvaged), the shelter cost Callie about $10 to build. It’s small and light enough for a person to tow like a wagon, yet encompasses a sleeping area, a sun-powered oven for cooking, a composting toilet, and ample storage. A small solar panel powers a lightbulb, and a rainwater-collecting roof enables the shelter to operate off-grid. Callie showed her prototype at the Georgia Tiny House Festival last week – let’s hope it’s her first of many creative housing projects.

Thanks to Deek Diedrickson, who posted a video about Callie’s house here.